Milestone 1 – Choose the not-for-profit organization you’d like to create an identity for and explain why. Share 2 to 3 sentences on what organization you’re choosing and why.

I have tried to be synthetic but this big (and mind blowing) story is a little bit longer... It is about a 900 year old lady, who went through religious wars, French Revolution and who is still in good condition today, thanks to actions of restoration. I promise to go faster in the other milestones.

Classified as a Historical Monument in 1914, the cathedral of Alès presents a most complex and harmonious architectural style. Built in the 12th century, the church still has some Romanesque elements, while some other parts were rebuilt in the 17th century in a Gothic style. However, the current Neo-classical architectural style is the result of restorations carried out in the 18th century.

The building, and thus the interior paintings and decorations, had been weathered since 1914 and were no longer recognisable.

To save this building, which was about to fall into ruin, an association was created at the end of the 1980s. Its objective: to raise awareness among the public authorities and the inhabitants of Alès in order to obtain subsidies and private donations to launch restoration work.

In the early 2000s, the two chapels were renovated (80 k€).
But it is especially from 2015 that the largest phases of restoration are launched:
- First the building (13 M€)
- Then the interior paintings and decorations (4.3 M€)

The cathedral reopened its doors on 7 March 2020, just 10 days before the first lockdown. All the momentum that had been built up by the announcements of this restoration was broken.

At the time of the restoration, Corrado De Guili Morghen, the architectural conservator, had said: "This cathedral is a 'little St. Peter's of Rome', with its colorful decorations and its Roman-inspired architecture... There is a kind of liturgy of color: we are in a place that is meant to be joyful and festive."

Civil association of Saint-Jean-Baptiste cathedral - image 1 - student project I am neither Catholic nor practicing, but I salute the determination of these inhabitants of Alès, mainly the shopkeepers of the city centre, to have shown such determination to preserve this treasure.

Today, this association has also taken on the mission of transmitting knowledge about this heritage (books are being created) and bringing the cathedral to life for its 20% cultural (including visits and concerts), the other 80% being religious.

No visual identity has ever been created for this association, which is the challenge I took up for this course!

Milestone 2 – Share your research on the organization that you’ll use to define the brand’s identity. Share 1 sentence that encapsulates the organization and images of their current identity system.

Civil association of Saint-Jean-Baptiste cathedral - image 2 - student project

The organizations which handles an historical monument restauration are entirely focused on the buiding itself, and their logo too. My favorite one is the "Rebâtir Notre-dame de Paris" logo.

Milestone 3 – Sketch a series of design concepts in the form of a potential logo. Share scans or photographs of your sketches and share with the class.

Civil association of Saint-Jean-Baptiste cathedral - image 3 - student project

I stylized the building, wanting to lighten up this heavy building, to do a pictogram. The association can use the pictogram with the word mark in a combination or alone, when the cathedral hosts concerts they have not organized.

Civil association of Saint-Jean-Baptiste cathedral - image 4 - student project

Civil association of Saint-Jean-Baptiste cathedral - image 5 - student project

Milestone 4 – Finalize and digitize your final kit-of-parts. Upload screenshots or final images of your logo and kit-of-parts.

Civil association of Saint-Jean-Baptiste cathedral - image 6 - student project

Milestone 5 – Stretch your design and apply it to at least 3 other mediums. Post the final liquid identity system illustrating how it’s applied across mediums.

Civil association of Saint-Jean-Baptiste cathedral - image 7 - student project

Civil association of Saint-Jean-Baptiste cathedral - image 8 - student project

The association is currently working with the Town Hall to animate the cathedral building with lighting effects for the summer evenings.
The logo could be use like this on social media :

Civil association of Saint-Jean-Baptiste cathedral - image 9 - student project

I will update the project with one or two postcards highlighting the greatest paintings, as soon as I got the professional photos of the paintings.

Thanks for watching !

Any feedback is welcome :)

Christelle Richard

Graphic designer & Illustrator

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